The present invention relates to a supine position assist apparatus for adjusting the position of a person on a bed and, in particular, a supine position assist apparatus for adjusting the position of that group of bed bound persons whose movement on or onto the bed is relatively the most severely hindered, whereby the supine position assist apparatus includes at least two re-positioning movement means extending longitudinally relative to a bed operable to adjust the bed bound person transversely to the bed with a first one of the re-positioning movement means adjusting the shoulder region of the person and a second one of the re-positioning movement means adjusting the back region of the person independent of the operation of the first re-positioning movement means.
Those persons in the group of bed bound persons whose movement on or onto the bed is relatively the most severely hindered, such as persons with muscle illnesses, those with multiple sclerosis, or other bed bound patients who find themselves bed bound are often not capable of adjusting their position on the supine position surface of a bed in a targeted manner. Frequently, persons suffering from an illness of a type which impairs their control of their muscles twist and turn to such a degree that the twisting of the spinal column leads to great pain. In particular during sleeping, it is necessary to frequently correct this positioning. In this regard, however, the assistance of one, if not two, persons is frequently necessary. The supine position assist apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,379 is intended to facilitate the re-positioning of a patient on a bed or other similar supine position surface. The re-positioning movement means of this supine position assist apparatus is comprised of elements of a multiple piece mattress. These mattress elements, upon which the bed bound person lies, can be shifted within certain limits transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bed by means of pull elements in the form of cloth structures which are rolled over, or wound onto and from, rollers extending longitudinally of the bed. With this arrangement, it is possible to independently adjust transversely to the bed the shoulder and back regions of the bed bound person whose adjustment is critical. In particular, persons who are sleeping have a tendency during the quiet time of sleep to repeatedly assume the same uncomfortable position on the bed so that repeated corrections of the position of the person are required. However, it is not possible with conventional supine position assist apparatus to displace the elements of the mattress which form the supine position surface of the bed toward the side of the bed in a desired frequent and wide ranging manner without, for example, causing the mattress elements to extend laterally beyond the side edges of the bed.
A supine support device is described in DE 36 14 572 A1 having a single pull sheet on which the bed bound person lies which is displaceable transversely to the bed, whereby a turning and, on occasion, a transfer of the bed bound person to another support supine surface, is possible by displacement movement of the pull sheet. A re-positioning or adjustment of the position of the patient on such a support supine device is, however, not possible. For those bed bound persons suffering from muscle illnesses, it is not merely sufficient to provide the possibility to turn the bed bound person but, rather, it is necessary to achieve a positioning of the bed bound person on the bed in a straight position or in a position which is comfortable for the bed bound person.
The present invention offers a solution to the challenge of providing a supine position assist apparatus for a bed which not only can turn a person lying on the bed but which can also permit a repetitive re-adjustment of the position of the person to an original position relative to the bed.
In accordance with the present invention, a supine position assist apparatus is provided which offers an improvement over conventional supine position assist apparatus in that the re-positioning movement means of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention comprises pull cloths on which the person lies and which are displaceable transversely to the bed.
With the pull cloths of the re-positioning movement means of the inventive supine position assist apparatus, which are preferably formed as continuous or endless cloth loops and which can be guided by rollers extending along the side of the bed, it is possible to repetitively effect a positioning of the bed bound person from a given orientation into practically any desired position in view of the fact that no element comprised in the bed is shifted during such deployment of the repositioning movement means so as to project laterally beyond a side of the bed.
If, for example, the bed bound person is lying in a curved position on the bed such that the bed bound person""s shoulder region lies to the left and the bed bound person""s back region lies to the right, the bed bound person can be restored to a position aligned with the longitudinal extent of the bed by a movement of a first re-positioning movement means toward the right and a movement of a second re-positioning movement means toward the left, as the positioning range of the pull cloths is very large.
In another embodiment of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention, the pull cloths are windable onto, or unwindable from, a roller on a longitudinal side of the bed onto or from, respectively, another roller on an opposed longitudinal side of the bed, whereby the tension or stiffness of the pull cloths between the rollers can be adjustably varied and, consequently, the hardness of the supine position surface can be accommodated to the needs of the bed bound person.
The re-positioning movement means can be configured so as to support the movement of the bed bound person into a supine position or can alternately be configured so as to fully perform this movement. Moreover, it can be provided that the bed bound person can himself or herself execute the control of these movements or the movement control can be accomplished by a care provider. Furthermore, a control device can be made available at the edge of the bed or on the bed frame which de-activates the re-positioning movement means in the event that the re-positioning movement means reaches or exceeds a prescribed pressure so that, in this manner, the bed bound person is not moved off the bed in the event of a defective movement sequence or is otherwise injured by the re-positioning movement means.
The configuration of the re-positioning movement means as pull cloths on which the bed bound person moves has generally proved itself, is not overly sensitive to disturbances, and makes possible the fabrication of a compact supine position assist apparatus which can be installed onto conventional beds of the type found in private facilities. Additionally, the bed bound person is not disturbed by this re-positioning movement means configuration.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention, at least one other re-positioning movement means in the form of a third re-positioning movement means is arranged in the region of the legs of the bed bound person in order to move the legs transversely to the bed independent of the movements of the first and second re-positioning movement means. In this manner, an even more flexible positioning of the bed bound person on the bed can be effected, as the movement of the legs of a bed bound person is often not possible or is possible only with great effort. This third re-positioning movement means can comprise side or lateral pusher elements which engage the legs of the bed bound person. The provision of such pusher elements offers the advantage that the legs of the bed bound person can be maintained in the middle of the bed as the bed bound person sleeps instead of being at liberty to shift toward the outside edges of the bed. The risk that a bed bound person might fall out of the bed, as could arise with a bed construction having open sides, is thus prevented or, at least, substantially reduced.
In another useful embodiment of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention, the third re-positioning movement means, with its associated lateral pusher elements, can be pivotably mounted to the bed below the supine resting position plane. This offers the advantage that movement of the bed bound person onto and off the bed is not hindered by the re-positioning movement means.
In connection with a further advantageous embodiment of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention, it has proven to be advantageous to mount the re-positioning movement means to be adjustably re-positionable along the longitudinal direction of the bed to thereby permit the supine position assist apparatus to be accommodated to bed bound persons of differing sizes.
The re-positioning movement means is preferably driven in an electro-motor, hydraulic, or pneumatic manner. As a basic concept, however, a manual drive or a manual assist can be provided. Additional control elements can be provided to permit movement of the re-positioning movement means independent of one another. It can be advantageous to provide control means in order to drive at least the first and second re-positioning movement means synchronously in one direction at substantially the same speed. In this regard, a turning over of the bed bound person is possible, in addition to straightening the bed bound person out on the bed.
The control means can comprise a voice responsive control device. In this manner, the provision of care to the bed bound person is substantially facilitated if, for example, the bed bound person, in a given supine position on the bed, cannot reach, or can reach only with effort, the control device.
The present invention also involves a bed for a bed bound person having a supine position assist apparatus of the present invention. To further enhance the comfort of the bed bound person, a bed entry assist can be provided on at least one side of the bed which comprises a support plate for the placement thereon of the bed bound person""s feet, the support plate being mounted on a pivot arm pivotably mounted to the bed in a manner such that the support plate can be disposed at the level of the supine position surface. In this manner, it is possible to substantially facilitate the laborious effort needed to raise the legs of the bed bound person as the bed bound person moves onto the bed. It is to be understood that this bed entry assist can also be deployed to assist the bed bound person in exiting the bed or in assuming a sitting position on the bed. The bed entry assist can be manually driven or driven by a motor.
In another embodiment of the supine position assist apparatus of the present invention, a fourth re-positioning movement means can be provided to enable at least one longitudinal side of the bed to be height adjustable such that the bed can be tilted to facilitate entry onto, and exit from, the bed. In this manner, the exit movement, in particular, of a bed bound person from the bed can be substantially facilitated.